She is portrayed as stuffy and arrogant, with a great distaste for Jack that she takes no measure to hide. When Jack makes known his plan to marry her daughter, she refuses on the basis that Jack does not know his family’s true place on the societal ladder, as he was orphaned. In Act I, she confronts Jack saying, “I would strongly advise you, Mr. Worthing, to try and acquire some relations as soon as possible” (The Importance of Being Earnest 24) and soon after stating, “You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter…to marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel” (The Importance of Being Earnest 24-25). Lady Bracknell will only allow her daughter’s hand in marriage to a list of suitors she has personally approved, and Jack’s lack of familial status is appalling to her. The embodiment of Lady Bracknell’s character mocks the Victorian characteristics of superiority and social standing by exaggerating them through her condescension towards Jack and his
She is portrayed as stuffy and arrogant, with a great distaste for Jack that she takes no measure to hide. When Jack makes known his plan to marry her daughter, she refuses on the basis that Jack does not know his family’s true place on the societal ladder, as he was orphaned. In Act I, she confronts Jack saying, “I would strongly advise you, Mr. Worthing, to try and acquire some relations as soon as possible” (The Importance of Being Earnest 24) and soon after stating, “You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter…to marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel” (The Importance of Being Earnest 24-25). Lady Bracknell will only allow her daughter’s hand in marriage to a list of suitors she has personally approved, and Jack’s lack of familial status is appalling to her. The embodiment of Lady Bracknell’s character mocks the Victorian characteristics of superiority and social standing by exaggerating them through her condescension towards Jack and his